200 Days
by HelloMiho
Summary: The internationally esteemed Mugen School of Arts cultivates talented students to become world-renowned musicians and performers. Kaioh Michiru, a shy and overweight violinist, and Tenoh Haruka, a charismatic pianist, work hard to achieve their dreams of becoming musicians.


Haruka sauntered over to her locker, nonchalantly tossing her pencil into it and closing it before quickly reopening it again. With an arched eyebrow betraying her curiosity, the tall blonde picked up the foreign sheet music that lay at the bottom of her locker.

Glancing sideways for the unknown giver, Haruka was greeted with an empty hallway and she turned her eyes back onto the untitled paper.

It was clearly a piano accompaniment to a song for a different instrument of some kind: not the cello or other lower range instruments but perhaps the flute or violin. Instinctively, her left hand began to play out the notes on the sheet as her eyes scanned the music until she felt a pang of realization.

"Liebesfreud," Haruka muttered. Love's Joy by Kreisler, a sprightly melody that embodied its title with titillating double stops. Her eyes wandered towards the top of the paper, noticing a small note that she had initially not seen because of how absorbed she got in the music.

A small heart was drawn and tentative kanji was next to it.

"Please come to practice room 127 if you have the same feelings as me."

A small smile came onto Haruka's face at the reference to her birthday and she resolved to at least see who the source of the confession was (none of the other confessions she had received had been half as well planned or creative).

She made her way to the practice room with the sheet music lightly in her grasp. Despite the muting effects of the closed door, the bright melody of "Liebesfreud" rang in the hallway and Haruka froze in front of the door as emotions began to war on her face.

That violin music. It could only be…

* * *

' _Please, please come'_

Her anxiety was evident in the music as her vibratos were tentative and her fingers occasionally failed to reach notes. Her back was to the door; she didn't have the courage to face it. She let her eyes flicker to the side as she played, where a standard piano awaited for the person she had called.

- _click-_

Her heart leapt into her throat as the door opened. She had come. She had really come.

A flood of emotions washing over her body, she quickly ended the piece, bringing her violin and bow down to her side, before shyly turning around.

"Michiru," Haruka stated and Michiru couldn't help the butterflies in her stomach that were set free at the sound of her name. She quickly looked up to see the blonde in front of her, only to quickly look back at the ground, unable to make eye contact.

"Did you put this in my locker?" Haruka asked seriously as she held the sheet music in front of her. At the shy nod of the violinist, Haruka sighed and took a seat on edge of the piano bench, gesturing towards the girl to join her.

Michiru followed suit with her arms crossed in front of her in a futile attempt to make her body smaller and occupy less space on the bench. The bench creaked at the excess weight and the blush on Michiru's face worsened.

Paying no mind to the sound, Haruka exhaled before saying, "I didn't know that you liked me this much."

The small smile that had been playing on Michiru's face ever since the blonde's entrance vanished as her eyes began to cloud over with curiosity and dread. She slowly turned her head to meet Haruka's eyes for the first time. This time, it was Haruka avoiding the black-haired girl's gaze, before she seemed to gain her resolve and make eye contact.

"I'm sorry," Haruka resolutely stated, an apologetic undertone of sincerity lacing her voice, "I like you but...I don't think I feel the same as you do."

"Then why did you come here? Were you trying to make me feel better?" Michiru asked almost accusingly, before adding in a softer, defeated tone, "You could have just left." All the joy she had felt was gone without a trace replaced by an overwhelming feeling of defeat.

Contrite, the blonde responded, "I still received a confession. If I leave without directly responding, it's a bit.."

Michiru finished Haruka's sentence, "impolite, right?" The words seemed caught in her throat but she forced them out anyway, unspilled tears giving her eyes a wet shine.

Haruka nodded and cast her eyes to the ground, uncomfortably aware of and sorry for how close her friend was to tears. Seeing the guilt-stricken blonde, Michiru made an attempt at a smile and said with a forcefully bright tone, "Oh, so that was it."

She let out a nervous giggle and her eyes flickered everywhere as she looked to the ceiling as if to stop the tears from falling before continuing, "I'll just throw this away."

Michiru unsuccessfully tried to grab the sheet music with her free hand as she rose from the bench but hurriedly made her way out of the room nevertheless, her eyes finally overflowing with tears. Haruka's body made to go after her but she slumped back onto the bench, sighing as she looked at the sheet music that was still in her grasp.

* * *

Spotting the tall blonde entering the hallway, Michiru fought the urge to turn right around and instead stared intensely at the ground as she walked, hoping to avoid notice. Someone bumped hard into her shoulder, causing her to let out a startled gasp of pain at the brusque impact. The culprit, a male student, quickly went to apologize before he took in the rolls of fat accentuated by the tight uniform and the conspicuous lack of a black star on the Mugen uniform. A look of distaste crossing his face, he passed by her without a word.

Michiru went to a bench nearby, gingerly rotating her shoulder to make sure no lasting damage had occurred.

"Are you okay?" The blonde materialized by her side, worried as her hands went toward the black haired girl, "Let me have a look at your shoulder."

The violinist recoiled, "There's no need. From now on, please stop being so nice to me."

Haruka's hands fell to her side but she still declared, "It's because I'm always worrying about you. How about you stop making me worry about you?"

Michiru turned to face the blonde, "You worry about me?"

Haruka responded warmly, "Of course. I still like you a lot as a friend."

Ignoring the pang she felt at the last three words, Michiru suddenly asked, "You're going to Austria for 200 days right?"

Startled at the subject change, Haruka nodded.

"After 200 days, I'll show you a better version of myself. Then, when the time comes, can you give me another answer?" Michiru earnestly asked, ignoring the small bit of her that hated how pitiful she seemed.

Haruka hesitated before resolutely saying with a small smile, "Fine. 200 days."

* * *

Michiru jump roped vigorously, imagining with each jump and slap of the ground, that her fat was melting away. Her breath came out in small puffs and sweat poured down her body until she finally reached her limit and collapsed onto the ground with her arms sprawled out. As her legs ached and her heart beat rapidly, she wondered if she could actually pull it off.

-0-0-0-

She gazed at her pitiful dinner: half a sweet potato and a yogurt drink.

" _Eat like a queen for breakfast, then like a commoner for lunch, then like a beggar for dinner."_

Keeping in her sigh, Michiru began to eat.

-0-0-0-

The violin sang out the most elegant of melodies, happiness and sadness so intertwined that they were nearly indistinguishable from each other. Her eyes were closed as she played; she didn't need any sheet music, not for Liebesleid (Love's Sorrow).

-0-0-0-

A slender figure glided through the water, the smooth surface of the water broken with each graceful stroke of her arms. With each stroke, she was faster, her head barely lifting up for breath. Subconsciously, she seemed to know where the pool ended, and instead of stopping after each lap, she merely flipped over in one fluid action and began once again.

* * *

" _Haruka Tenoh Starts Concert Season With The Vienna Philharmonic With Avant-Garde Renditions of Classics"_

" _Piano Prodigy Haruka Tenoh Leaves Esteemed Vienna Institute of Music One Month Early"_

" _Haruka Tenoh Breathes New Life Into Classical Pieces With The Vienna Philharmonic"_

* * *

Haruka exited the car, greeted by a swarm of girls screaming her name. Smirking devilishly at them, she strolled through the crowd.

Having lost the crowd of students who had been following her, Haruka walked through the hallways of Mugen for the first time in two hundred days. Eyebrows furrowed, she scanned her surroundings, looking for a large black-haired girl that she had missed throughout her time in Europe.

Continuing on her search, Haruka hesitated upon coming across yet another bunch of students, crowded around the opening to a single practice room. Faint music could be heard from where Haruka was standing.

Her curiosity piqued, Haruka sauntered over to the crowd and the music began getting clearer and louder. A violin and piano played in beautiful harmony as the violin fearlessly soared to heights. Brilliants vibratos left the notes ringing and the piano matched the violin's emotional intensity; the passion of the music was practically tangible.

Strauss's Violin Sonata in E Flat Major.

Haruka recalled the piece and felt impressed; not only was the piece extremely technically difficult for both the piano and the violin, the two musicians had to be in-sync with each other in order to play the piece the way it deserved to be played. The two students obviously weren't flawless but their overall playing was utterly captivating, which was how Haruka found herself joining the crowd of awed spectators.

Immediately, she was able to recognize the pianist: Chiba Mamoru, a nice guy who was also a Soloist, sporting a black star on his Mugen uniform. She had always respected his skills and been fairly friendly with him but they were more acquaintances than friends.

The violinist was a wild card, her body angled in the direction of Mamoru as they continuously made eye contact, silently communicating with each other. With a svelte figure and lustrous aquamarines tresses that fell below her shoulders, Haruka racked her head to remember who she was. None of the Soloists had aqua hair according to her memory yet a violinist of this caliber and beauty had to be a Soloist.

As the sonata came to a brilliant finish, the crowd of students began to clap raucously, awed by the talent they had just seen. Haruka joined in the applause all while she earnestly tried to see the face of the violinist. The mysterious girl remained with her back towards the audience, discussing the finer details that still needed to be fine-tuned with Mamoru, until finally she turned towards the door and her face was made visible.

Haruka appreciated the beauty of the girl: unblemished porcelain skin, pale petal-like lips, piercing cobalt eyes...

Haruka froze.

That was…

Michiru.

* * *

A/N: More will be explained in the following but just to clear up a few things now: Haruka went to Austria to play with the orchestra and study at the Institute of Music at the same time. She ended up leaving the school early (for a reason that will be explained later) but she continued to play with the orchestra and had a successful concert season. Although the crowd of student fans may seem excessive, they all do want to become musicians, which is why they'd fangirl over a fellow student who had been super successful.

This is based on Dream High (not the second season ugh), a Korean drama, which doesn't fat-shame people (spoiler: Pilsook becomes large again in the end but she's still happily with Jason), and I'd like to make it clear that it's also not my intention to fat-shame anyone. Also, I have been working of "The Clinic.." and FOP, it's just that I've faced numerous blocks.

Please read and review!


End file.
